Aging

Let's face it, who wants to get old?  We may not mind being older, but we don't want to be old.  In this youth obsessed society we live in, it's hard to age.  The constant pressure being applied to us to stay young is ridiculous.  We are constantly bombarded with advertising that screams and equates sexiness with youth.  This is especially true for women.  It is hard to age, have careers, have aging parents who may be declining, be responsible for a household, accountable to a boss, mothering your children, being a daughter, sister, aunt, best friend and confidant and be a size 4 and sexy all the time.  Why we hold this unrealistic standard to mirror ourselves is beyond me.

Many people who are moving through middle age to senior years are afraid whether they will admit it or not.  Many are afraid they will not have enough to live on when they are retired.  Many are afraid of losing their jobs and pensions before they are ready to retire.  We hear horror story after horror story of how people are just a year or two away from retirement and they are terminated or downsized leaving them with very few options of maintaining the level of income they are used to.  I know that age discrimination is against the law, but it happens all the time.  I was told by a someone that age discrimination is the most practiced discrimination in this country.  I'm not sure whether it's true or not, but I wouldn't be surprised if it were so.  Trying to get another comparable job to what you're used to after a certain age is very difficult.  Youth is preferred over experience most of the time.  It doesn't matter how horrible a young person is at doing their job, they will always be preferred.  The most common thing I hear is that they are more energetic and are more flexible because they don't yet have families.  I think this is a lot of bull and the most likely the reason is you can pay them less and make them do more.  They don't yet have a true understanding of their worth.  In this day and age, people are living longer, taking better care of themselves and looking younger, so why do companies assumed an older person lacks energy and stamina.  Besides, if you do your job right and not have to repeatedly correct things, you don't need as much energy and stamina.  From where I'm standing, they don't seem to have all that much energy and stamina anyway as slow as some of them move.  Companies would rather continue to apologize for their young staff, than hire older, more mature, more experienced workers.  I'm not against hiring young people, some jobs do require youth and stamina to be done, but stop dismissing people over 40 and especially 50 as useless!!!  Another misconception is that people over 50 are preparing to leave the workplace.  Have you been paying attention to what's going on in this country the last 20 years?  Housing markets crashed, pension funds were raided, financial fraud was rampant.  Many people over 50 will have no choice but to work and stay in the work force long after they thought.  They just simply do not have the means to retire let alone retire comfortably.

One of the most surprising things about this issue is that the people in the 40's - 50's age range are part of the problem.  I've heard to many of them say so many times, I want someone young and energetic.  It's so unfair and so presumptive.  In essence, aren't we supposed to hire the best qualified person for the job?  Unless the job requires a person to move non stop, why would you assume someone older can't do it.  Let's get real a minute, most of these are corporate jobs, aka desk jobs.  The amount of running around on a typical day at these jobs can usually be handled by someone over 50.  Please stop acting like everyone over 50 is using a cane or a walker.   Again let me point out how slow some of the younger folks move because they really don't want to be there!!!  So what's the problem?  Everyone wants to appear young and virile even if it's by default by who you surround yourself with.  I know there are exceptions to this.  I've heard of several companies who actively solicit older workers because they feel they have a better work ethic.  On behalf of all the older people out there seeking work whether part-time or full-time, please don't be so dismissive of this set of workers as they have experience, commitment, dedication, skills, intelligence and most importantly the desire to be a part of the collective success of hard work.    One thing I know for sure, when I retire, I will be done with the work force.  I do not plan to be one of those people who retire, then find another career or job.  I plan to expand my travels and fun times to the max!!!!  No more work for me but for those who continue to want or need to work, they should be fairly considered like everyone else!!! It seems to me that retiring between 62-65 is becoming more a wish than a reality for many!!!  I wouldn't be surprised if the average retirement age became 70-72.  It seems like that's becoming more the reality!!!